Serena Williams eyes Australian Open as her comeback tournament

Serena Williams has declared that she is hoping to make to return to competitive tennis in January 2018 in order to defend her Australian Open title in Melbourne. However, the 35-year-old was quick to point out that her return, after taking a break to welcome her first child wouldn’t be easy.

Williams took a break from the tennis court as she and her fiance, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, are expecting to welcome their first child at the end of the year. The 35-year-old has claimed that she wants to stage a comeback as soon as possible as she wants to defend her Australian Open title.

“It’s the most outrageous plan,” she told Vogue in an interview. “I just want to put that out there. That’s, like, three months after I give birth. I’m not walking anything back, but I’m just saying it’s pretty intense.”

Serena holds the record of winning the most number of Grand Slam titles in the Open era that includes seven Australian Open and Wimbledon titles along with six US Open and three French Open titles. She feels that coming back after one year break will affect her return.

“In this game, you can go dark fast,” she said. “If I lose, and I lose again, it’s like, she’s done. Especially since I’m not 20 years old. I’ll tell you this much: I won’t win less. Either I win, or I don’t play.”

Williams, whose 2017 Australian Open crown took her above Steffi Graf's total of 22 in the Open era, is just one behind Margaret Court (24). The American star has always been targeted because of the way she plays the game but she said that she doesn't pay too much attention to it.

“Not only me, but women in general sometimes feel that power is a bad word. As I’ve gotten older I’ve started to feel differently about it. Power is beauty. Strength is beauty. So now on the court, I want people to think that I’m powerful. But I also want them to be shocked at how I play. I want people to expect something, then get something different,” said the 35-year-old.

She also spoke up about the racism that still exists at the highest level of the sport claiming that because of her skin colour she didn’t get as much attention as compared to other players.

“I feel like people think I’m mean. Really tough and really mean and really street. I believe that the other girls in the locker room will say, ‘Serena’s really nice.’ But Maria Sharapova, who might not talk to anybody, might be perceived by the public as nicer. Why is that? Because I’m black and so I look mean? That’s the society we live in. That’s life. They say African Americans have to be twice as good, especially women. I’m perfectly OK with having to be twice as good,” Williams concluded.

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